Matthew 26 Study Notes

26:1-2 Passover was a celebration that commemorated the Israelites’ flight from Egypt in the days of Moses (Ex 12). The timing of Jesus’s death (at Passover) confirms his identity as the new Moses who will lead his disciples on a new spiritual exodus. On Son of Man, see note at 8:18-20. The temporal reference that Passover takes place after two days means that Jesus’s prophecy was given on Tuesday.

26:3 Joseph Caiaphas served as high priest from AD 18 to 36, after he replaced his father-in-law, Annas. His burial cave was discovered in 1990 south of Abu Tor.

26:4-5 The fear of rioting during Passover was well-founded since riots had previously occurred (Josephus, War 1.88). A riot would cause the Romans to strengthen their grip on Jerusalem and the Jewish leadership.

26:6 Jesus had apparently healed Simon of leprosy at a previous date since he now lived in a house (rather than a leper colony) and entertained Jewish guests before the Passover.

26:7 The unnamed woman was Mary (Jn 12:3). Her perfume was very expensive, worth a year’s wages. Since Jesus was the Christ (a title meaning “anointed one”), anointing his head was especially meaningful. It recalled the anointing of OT kings (1Sm 10:1; 2Kg 9:3,6).

26:8-11 According to Jn 12:4, Judas was the primary critic of the woman. Here the different evaluations of the woman’s act—a waste or a noble thing—shows how little the disciples understood of Jesus. His remarks echo Dt 15:11.

26:12 Corpses were perfumed in first-century Palestine to mask the odor of putrefaction. Jesus interpreted Mary’s act as preparation for his burial. Messiah was beginning his reign, but, to the surprise of his disciples, his throne would be a cross and his diadem a crown of thorns.

26:13 Jesus is predicting the preaching of the “good news of the kingdom” (Mt 24:14) in all the world.

26:14-16 If the thirty pieces of silver are thirty shekels, the amount was equal to 120 days’ wages. Thus by his traitorous act Judas earned an amount of money that equaled only one-third of the value of Mary’s lavish gift (see note at v. 7). On the significance of this amount, see note at 27:9-10.

26:17 The feast of Unleavened Bread was a seven or eight-day feast associated with the one-day Passover. During this feast, the Jews refused to eat anything containing yeast in order to commemorate the speed with which God delivered them from Egypt (Ex 13:7-8; Dt 16:3-4). The feast began on the day before Passover, Thursday of Passion Week.

26:18-19 Mark’s account of this event more clearly implies that Jesus’s instructions to his disciples indicate that he had used supernatural knowledge (Mk 14:13-16).

26:20-24 Just as it is written indicates that Jesus’s sufferings were foretold in the OT. Jesus probably had in mind texts such as Is 53 and Ps 22.

26:25 Judas’s words betray his flagrantly deceptive and hypocritical heart.

26:26 The Passover meal was rich with symbolic meaning. Jews ate lamb to commemorate the lamb whose blood protected firstborn Israelites from the death plague before the exodus. Bitter herbs were reminiscent of their enslavement. Unleavened bread symbolized the haste of their departure from Egypt (Ex 12). Jesus invested the meal with new symbolism: the unleavened bread symbolized his own body, which would be torn by scourging and crucifixion. His sacrifice would begin a new exodus in which people were liberated from slavery to sin.

26:27-28 The making of a covenant was normally accompanied by an act of sacrifice. The slaughter of the animal signified the consequences that would befall anyone who broke the covenant. The old covenant was sealed by such a sacrifice (Ex 24:8). Now, Jesus’s sacrifice enacted the new covenant that had been promised in the OT (Jr 31:31-34). In this covenant God vowed to forgive and forget his people’s sins. He also promised to write his law on the hearts of his people so that they will fulfill his righteous demands.

26:29 Many Jews expected Messiah to begin his reign by sharing a great banquet with his subjects. The final cup of the meal anticipated that great messianic feast and encouraged Jesus’s disciples to eagerly wait “until he comes” (1Co 11:26).

26:30 Jews typically sang portions of OT psalms like Pss 113-118 during the Passover meal.

26:31 Many Jews regarded Zch 13:7, which Jesus quoted here, as a prophecy about the Messiah. Jesus’s quote implied that the Father himself would strike him. Although his crucifixion involved the conspiracy of religious leaders, Roman officials, and the betrayal of a friend, Jesus viewed his death ultimately as the fulfillment of God’s righteous plan (see also Ac 4:27-28).

26:32 Jesus’s reference to his resurrection goes right over the disciples’ heads.

26:33-35 For the fulfillment of Jesus’s prophecy, see vv. 69-75.

26:36-38 Jesus’s sorrow resulted from his anticipation of his physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering, especially his alienation from his Father as he bore the sins of the world on the cross.

26:39 In the OT, the “cup” is often an image of divine wrath and judgment (Ps 75:7-8; Is 51:17). The cup that Jesus faced was God’s wrath against sin. With the words if it is possible, let this cup pass, Jesus asked his Father to provide forgiveness by some means other than his sacrificial death. Jesus knew that God’s power made it possible for him to evade the power of Jewish and Roman executioners (see note at vv. 52-53), but he did not want to reject the Father’s plan to provide salvation to his people.

26:40-41 Luke 22:45 explains that the disciples were “exhausted from their grief.” Peter’s boast in v. 35 is quickly proving empty.

26:42-46 Jesus’s second and third petitions in Gethsemane assumed that his sacrificial death was necessary. Matthew 26:54 shows that God had predicted Jesus’s death in the OT. The Scriptures, being God’s Word, had to be fulfilled. This second petition closely parallels Jesus’s model prayer in 6:9-13. Both prayers address God as Father and contain the petition your will be done.

26:47-50 Jewish men did not kiss one another publicly except on formal occasions. Such a kiss expressed respect and affection. Thus Judas’s kiss was an act of shameful hypocrisy. Jesus’s question may also be read as a command (“Do what you came for”) or a statement (“I know why you are here”).

26:51 The servant was named Malchus (Jn 18:10). Jesus restored his severed ear (Lk 22:51).

26:52-53 A Roman legion consisted of six thousand soldiers. A roughly equal number of auxiliary troops supported each legion. Thus twelve legions of angels would be equivalent to 72,000 or even 144,000 angels, more than enough to defend Jesus against arrest and crucifixion.

26:54-56 Jesus expressed the same view of the Scriptures that he taught in the Sermon on the Mount (5:17-20). The writings of the prophets that were being fulfilled would include such OT texts as those quoted in v. 31 and 21:42, as well as Is 52:13-53:12 which describes the Lord’s Suffering Servant (see notes at 8:17; 12:15-21).

26:57-58 John 18:13 adds that they first visited Annas.

26:59-60 The Sanhedrin was obligated to interview witnesses separately and then compare their testimonies to determine if they were consistent (Mk 14:55-59). Inconsistent testimonies were considered invalid.

26:61-63 The testimony was based on a confused understanding of Jesus’s statement in Jn 2:19. Since both 2Sm 7:13-14 and Zch 6:12 portrayed Messiah as one who would build a temple for God, the high priest regarded the statement about building the temple in three days as a claim to messiahship. The high priest appears to use the titles Messiah and Son of God interchangeably, suggesting that many Jews saw the title “Son of God” as messianic in light of Ps 2.

26:64 Jesus’s confession acknowledged that he is Messiah and the Son of God. However, he countered confused interpretations of his messianic role by describing himself as the Son of Man. Both “Son of Man” and the phrase coming on the clouds of heaven were drawn from Dn 7:13. Jesus’s words confirmed that he intended this title to express not just his humanity but his identity as a King who would reign over an eternal kingdom. The words seated at the right hand echo Ps 110:1 (see note at Mt 22:43-46). Jesus’s application of Ps 110:1 to himself gave the impression that he was claiming to be God’s equal. The unbelieving Jewish leaders regarded this as blasphemy, a crime worthy of death (Lv 24:10-23).

26:65 Tearing one’s robes was a common expression of deep grief and was the customary Jewish response to blasphemy. However, because the robes of the high priest were sacred, Lv 21:10 prohibited “the priest who is highest among his brothers” from tearing his garments. Thus the high priest’s anger at Jesus’s statement prompted him to commit an act of sacrilege.

26:66 Execution by stoning was the prescribed OT penalty for blasphemy (Lv 24:10-23).

26:67-68 Mark 14:65 shows that the men covered Jesus’s face before they beat him. Thus Jesus was expected to identify his abusers by name without seeing their faces or hearing their voices. This mock test of messiahship was probably based on a misinterpretation of Is 11:3 which said that Messiah “will not judge by what he sees with his eyes . . . [or] by what he hears with his ears.” A century later Bar Kochba was executed after his claims to be Messiah were disproved by his inability to judge by smell.

26:69-71 The emphasis on Jesus’s identity as a Galilean and a Nazarene may imply that one of the arguments used to refute his messianic claims was that he did not come from Bethlehem, the city of David. This city is identified as the birthplace of Messiah in Mc 5:2. Thus, this argument against Jesus’s messiahship confused his hometown with his birthplace (Mt 2:4-11).

26:72-73 Galileans spoke with an accent that distinguished them from the inhabitants of Judah.

26:74-75 This event fulfilled Jesus’s prophecy in v. 34.